Living On Another Frequency
Mascot Records, 2008
http://www.myspace.com/sciencefaxtion
REVIEW BY: Bruce Rusk
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/27/2008
When the PR dope for the band Science Faxtion came across the DV wire, I jumped on it. A “supergroup” featuring funkmeister Bootsy Collins, alien guitarist maniac Buckethead, and drummer extraordinaire Brain -- wow, what a combo! These are all well-respected musicians whom I’ve admired and enjoyed listening to. These three were the core of the band Praxis, which cut some very good experimental funk metal. When the CD arrived, I found that along with those three, there are about fifteen other musicians involved. That’s not necessarily bad, unless the principles get lost in the shuffle, which they sadly do here. Also listed as primary members are someone named DJ Botieus, and Greg Hampton on vocals and guitar; apparently
The PR packet gushed endlessly about this
They call this funk-metal, but there's no funk in sight, it's just pedestrian metal dreck. There is no cohesion to the sound, just a lot of chaotic noise. There are no searing solos from Buckethead. The beautiful array of bizarreness that usually emanates from his axe is completely lost in the turgid layers of DJ abuse and
If he wasn’t listed on the liner notes I couldn’t have told you Buckethead was involved. Except for a few vocals, Bootsy might as well have stayed home as his bass is so lost in the mess. The one light in this dismal mess is the killer track “What Is, Is” featuring Chuck D of Public Enemy laying it down old school. If they’d made an album with Chuck at the mike full time this probably wouldn’t suck. But it does suck. Don’t be fooled by the fact that there are three amazing talents involved. Their skills are nowhere to be heard. Grab one of the Praxis albums if you want the real deal.